


A Bajoran, A Vulcan, And A Human Walk Into A Bar

by not_an_anagram



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Nonbinary Character, fic follows canon (mostly), no beta we die like men, not about the main cast, will have ships eventually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:20:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27183046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/not_an_anagram/pseuds/not_an_anagram
Summary: Basically a look at DS9 through the eyes of my OCs. Follows the episodes of canon with some deviance at certain places. Will have some character shipping in the later chapters. For now just have fun with my OCs :)(This is my first fic, and I don't have any beta readers. Please feel free to comment if you find any errors)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	1. A Bajoran...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First chapter!!! I decided that I would not post anything until I was finished with at least three chapters, so here we go! Hope you enjoy!

The station was a wreck. Ela imagined it had always been dirty, Cardassian stations were not known for their cleanliness, but the wreckage had to be a new addition. One final destructive tantrum before vanishing into space. At least whatever was left of the station belonged to the Bajorans now.

Ela paused to take a breath, inhaling the scene around her. Freedom. Although she had been held in a labor camp on the planet instead of a space station, she could understand what the Bajoran slaves must have felt when they’d first walked past the gates that were now laying on the promenade floor. Freedom. That was why she was here, why Starfleet was here despite the fact that this was, by all accounts, a Bajoran space station. It did not seem like there would be a second occupation any time soon, but Ela was wary of any powerful force near Bajor nonetheless. 

Walking through the station, Ela made careful note of every hallway and hiding place she could find. As a newly appointed officer of the station’s security detail, it was her duty to know the station’s layout in and out. She had, of course, been handed the appropriate files upon arriving, including a map of the station, but she preferred to scope out the area herself. It gave her something to do while the rest of the station settled in. She paused her inspection to help a Starfleet engineer move a fallen pillar out of the way.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please comment if you find any errors, no beta so any help is appreciated!


	2. A Vulcan...

Ensign Tissav picked up a dermal regenerator, running the light over his patient’s arm. Managing a newly acquisitioned Cardassian station required engineers, and injured engineers required medical officers. The amount of injuries onboard surprised Tissav when he first arrived at the station. His fellow coworkers joked that every day the engineering team came up with new ways to injure themselves. They seemed annoyed, however, when he candidly pointed out that the injuries were decreasing on average in number and severity. Their displeasure was, as his step-mother said, “their business”.

Tissav moved to begin organizing the newest shipment of medical supplies while another officer took over his patient. In retrospect, he should have brought more of his own medical equipment from Vulcan. He was grateful to his older cousin for insisting he pack a small generator along with his essentials. The device was very useful during the frequent power outages that plagued the station. Tissav took a moment to stare meaningfully at the small generator as it whirled away, providing precious energy to the infirmary.

Tissav was distracted as two more engineers filed into the infirmary with electrical burns.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We got to meet the second OC!!! Thank you for reading!!


	3. And A Human...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Third and final OC!!! Yay!

Juniper checked their luggage. Then they checked it again. This was the third time they had checked their luggage. They couldn’t help it, they felt like a bundle of nerves. Sitting down seemed impossible, but it was that or start pacing and annoying the other passengers again. After five minutes of sideways stares (or was it longer? It felt like longer) Juniper had resolved to sit down and stare at the seat in front of them. Ninety minutes aboard a freighter couldn’t be that bad, right? A small price to pay for the beginning of what was sure to be a great journey.

The entire freighter stilled as the captain’s voice sounded over the comm system.

“Passengers, we are dropping out of warp. Please feel free to stand up and look out of one of our portholes. Deep Space Nine should be coming up soon. Captain Yates out.”

Juniper leaped up from their seat, trying not to run as they made their way to the nearest porthole. They stared, still for the first time since they had boarded the freighter. This was it. Their new home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! Finally published, after all that work. More chapters coming soon (I at least have some idea where this story is going...) so please help by commenting. This is my first fic and I would love to know the opinion of my readers :)


	4. Walk Into A Bar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! Finished with the fourth chapter. I've been working on it little by little every day, so it looks like this is about how long it will take me to write every chapter going on from here. Thank you to everyone who has read it so far!

Ela fiddled with her uniform, tugging and adjusting at the shoulders, the sleeves, the belt. She was off duty, technically, but she still felt uncomfortable walking around the promenade without her uniform. Ela forced herself to take a deep breath, acknowledging that there was little she could do to make herself look more approachable in the beige suit. Her first night out since arriving at Deep Space Nine and it was already off to a terrible start.

Ela was so focused on just making it to Quarks that she didn’t notice the decor until it nearly hit her, literally. Holographic birds of all colors and shapes flew around the bar, phasing through the patrons. Musicians played a fast paced tune on some sort of string instrument while the dabo girls, dressed in a variety of outdated and revealing outfits, moved to the beat. Propped on the bar was a small sign reading “Drink up me hearties!” in various languages. 

_ Ah _ , Ela thought, surveying the scene,  _ this is what Quark meant by “ancient pirate” theme. _

Indeed, in an effort to draw in more customers from nearby systems, Quark had begun offering “theme days” for the entertainment of his customers. This included decorating the bar in cheap decorations and the dabo girls in even cheaper costumes. Being Quark, this also meant charging nearly three times the average price for drinks and services. Ela made her way towards an empty table near the back of the bar, trying to hide the embarrassment staining her cheeks.

* * *

Juniper was having a great time. The music, the sounds, the people. Simply being in the crowd felt invigorating. Even better, they had found a possible friend in the Vulcan sitting across from them.

“I believe her costume is meant to represent the famed pirates of Betazed, although I doubt the pirates of that era wore such impractical clothing” their companion commented on one of the dabo girls.

“Some might have, but I see what you mean. Of course, no one here can beat you in accuracy,” Juniper said, grinning at the sight of a vulcan dressed in the most realistic pirate costume they had ever seen, complete with a fake parrot glued to his shoulder.

“Exactly.”

“So,” Juniper continued, “How did you become a fan of Earth pirates in the first place? I just noticed that your costume is very specifically Earth-based, and you’ve only talked about Earth pirate classics this entire time. Does Vulcan not have pirates or is this just a personal preference?”

“To answer your question, both are correct, to a point. Vulcan culture, as it is known in the present day, originates with Surak and his teachings. From that time onward, no record of pirates native to Vulcan or its territories can be found. My particular interest, however, is a personal one inspired from the books my human step-mother gave me as a child. I found, and still find, Earth’s pirate culture to be fascinating in its balance of chaos and order. Anarchistic societies rarely function very long, yet the golden age of pirates on Earth survived long enough to be a well known part of Earth culture.”

“Are you sure there aren’t any… other reasons? Pirates were very emotional people…”

“That is correct, although I am offended that you would insinuate my appreciation for pirate culture to have anything to do with emotion,” Tissav glared.

“Oh shit I’m so sorry if I offended you, I didn’t mean it, really, just some ribbing between friends, am I right?” Juniper laughed awkwardly.

They continued smiling awkwardly as Tissav considered their words. 

“I accept your apology. Many of my coworkers have expressed… distaste for my candid nature. It would be illogical to hold such a comment against you, especially since you have tolerated my comments on the inaccuracy of your ‘pirate-speak’ without complaining.”

Tissav took a sip of his rum.

“And I appreciate that you consider me your friend.”

Juniper collapsed with a sigh they hadn’t known they were holding in.

“It seems someone’s here alone,” Tissav motioned discreetly to the woman who had just sat down at the nearest table. She seemed to be fiddling with her glass, moving it around the table without drinking. It looked… incredibly awkward.

“Hi there!” Juniper said, leaning over their seat.

“Oh, uh, hi,” Ela replied, startled. She hadn’t noticed there was anyone sitting near her.  _ Wow _ , she thought,  _ I must be really off my game if two civilians can catch me off guard _ .

“I’m Juniper, and this here is Ensign Tissav. We were wondering if you’re here with someone else or just on your own.”

“I’m Remjol Ela. As for whether I’m here with someone or not, that’s, um, kind of a personal question.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, don’t feel pressured to answer. I know we’ve only  _ just _ met, but I never pass up the chance to make friends.”

Juniper leaned back, keeping within speaking distance. Ela relaxed, seeing that neither of her new acquaintances meant her any harm.

“What my talkative friend means to ask,” Tissav clarified, “Is whether you came here for the pirate theme or only for the drinks.”

“What he said.”

“Well, I don’t make a habit of drinking overpriced wine, so it would have to be the theme,” Ela smiled, shifting back into a comfortable topic, “If you really want to know, I’ve been a fan of pirates for a while. My aunt used to tell stories of Bajoran pirates, back when Bajor had ships that could sail on solar winds. I used to pretend I was a sailor back then, soaring through the stars.”

Ela paused wistfully.

“But that was a long time ago.”

“That’s awesome! I had no idea Bajoran ships used solar winds, that must have been so cool!” Juniper exclaimed, “We’ve been talking around, and most of the residents aren’t really that interested in pirates. Tissav and I were talking about renting a pirate adventure holosuite sometime, you in?”

“Huh,” Ela had not expected this. Hanging out with someone outside of work would be… nice. A pirate adventure sounded fun, and if she played her cards right, she might end up with two new friends.

“Sure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Pirate adventure! (no wormhole, timelines don't add up)


	5. Career Choices

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I lied. No pirate adventure this chapter. That being said, I just wanted to get this one piece of world building out of the way before starting on the actual plot. If anyone was wondering, this happens during Season 1 Episode 2

Juniper was not Starfleet. They were not trained in any career, really. In fact, the only credentials they had was an extensive list of linguistic degrees. 

Which brought them back to the reason they were here in the first place. To  _ learn _ . To interact with other cultures. What use was learning a language if you never got the chance to _ use _ it?

The problem, at the moment, was that Juniper felt unfulfilled. Upon arriving at the station, they had signed up for a job in engineering. Starfleet was underprepared for the massive task of reconfiguring a Cardassian station into something both Starfleet and Bajor could use, so they had started hiring any engineers who could make the trek there. Having been raised by two accomplished engineers, Juniper had the experience, if not the credentials, to make themselves useful on the station.

But it was  _ boring _ .

If Juniper was honest with themself, and they were not known to lie, they could deal with the boredom. Most of it came from the monotony that was working on a small panel for hours on end. They could let their mind wander while their hands did all the work. It was the isolation that got to them. They didn’t know any of the other engineers, and most of them preferred to focus on their work rather than gossip. For a person who thrived off social interaction, keeping their spirits up was hard.

It was that isolation, by coincidence, that led them to what would become their career for most of their time on Deep Space Nine. Juniper had been talking to Chief O’Brien, asking increasingly prying questions in an attempt to have a conversation, when he revealed something that surprised them.

“So now Keiko’s starting a school.”

“What?” _This_ _is interesting_.

“Yeah, she hasn’t had much to do, what with there being no real need for a botanist around here, and she noticed there were a lot of unsupervised kids running around the promenade, so she just. Started a school,” O’Brien shrugged.

Juniper paused in their work, looking at the Chief quizzically.

“Does she need teachers?”

* * *

As it turned out, she did. Juniper needed surprisingly few credentials to begin teaching at the school. A few hours of recorded lessons and they were ready to begin teaching. Being fluent in Bajoran didn’t hurt the matter either.  _ All in all, a good start _ , Juniper thought to themself as they started class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up (hopefully): A pirate adventure (that might actually end up being the title...)


	6. The Pirate Adventure Begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the long wait, I was planning on making the chapter longer, but I figured I might as well post what I have now and make it a two part story. This is mostly setting up the story, most of the action will be next chapter. Hope you enjoy :)

Tissav walked into the bar, surveying the scene as he always did. Quark’s was uncharacteristically empty, he noted. The only other beings in the room were Quark, Odo, and a Markalian patron. Tissav nodded to the bar owner before making his way to the second level, knowing his holosuite was already booked.

When Tissav entered the holosuite, the first thing he noticed was the smell. A breeze of salty air hit him as soon as the doors opened. He walked forward, taking care to maintain his balance as he stepped onto the rocking deck of 17th century Earth ship. The artificial sun glared down, even as he shivered in the cold sea breeze.

“Over here!” Juniper called down from above. Tissav looked up to see them in the crow’s nest, overlooking the sea ahead. They slid down a rope, landing in front of Tissav.

“I was told to come prepared,” Tissav gestured to his pirate getup. This time he had included a holster to hold his saber. 

Juniper grinned at him before turning to Ela, who emerged from the bridge carrying two sabers. She handed them to her companions, having already holstered hers.

“Everyone ready?” Tissav and Ela nodded.

“Computer, engage program.”

Holographic sailors appeared around them, working with the ship as though they were a part of it. In the distance an island appeared. At the rate the ship was going, they would reach the island in five minutes.

“Well Cap’n,” Juniper grinned at Tissav, “The adventure begins.”

* * *

Tissav, Juniper, and Ela stood around the captain’s desk, looking at a map. The computer generated program had created a classic pirate adventure in which the group had to find and retrieve a treasure chest hidden on an island. Tissav cleared his throat.

“It would seem as though this adventure consists of two simultaneous challenges. First Mate Remjol, would you present the details?”

“Of course,” Ela said, shifting into a mask of professionalism, “But, sir, I was under the impression Juniper would be acting as First Mate.”

“Oh, not at all, you’re much better at this than me,” Juniper smiled reassuringly, “And anyway, we’ll probably end up switching roles next time we do this.”

“Of course,” Ela cleared her throat, “The details of the adventure are as follows. We have retrieved a treasure map, detailing how to find the lost treasure of Davy Jones. Reaching the treasure while avoiding booby traps would be hard enough, but there’s more. A rival pirate ship has been spotted near the area. We can only assume they’re after the same treasure we are. As of now, the best option would be to find the treasure, bring it back to the ship, and leave the area before the other pirates notice. Any questions?”

Juniper and Tissav shook their heads.

“Well then,” Ela said, feeling the ship stop as they neared the island, “Let’s get started.”

The group approached the island, Juniper and Ela rowing silently while Tissav contemplated the map. Juniper closed their eyes, taking a moment to listen to the sound of the waves. They noticed they were still tapping their feet to the rhythm of a sea shanty the synthetic crew had been humming. Juniper opened their eyes, checking to see if they were bothering their new friends. Tissav was too focused on the map to care, and Ela was even humming along to the beat. Juniper smiled. Ela caught their gaze and smiled back. Juniper was used to people being bothered by the little things they did, like smile too much or fidget. They naturally picked up on other people’s discomfort, which made social interactions awkward. It was nice to be around people who actually liked spending time with them.

The boat shifted to a stop, leaving them on the beach. Tissav rolled up the map and tucked it securely in his belt.

“According to the directions on the map, there is a trail that will lead us to the treasure. The entrance to the trail is marked by a monkey.”

“A monkey?” Ela asked.

“A species of primate from Earth, most notably known for its climbing ability and long furry tail. In this case, the monkey in question is probably one of the many species native to a collection of islands in the area known as South America. Monkeys of this area are known for their prehensile tails.”

“So, we’re looking for a furry animal with a long tail that can climb?” Ela asked.

“Exactly.”

“Like that?” Juniper pointed to the treetops above them, where a small furry head could be seen blinking down at them. 

“It seems we’ve found our guide,” Ela said, as a coconut collided with her face.

“Are you alright?” Juniper asked, immediately taking out a medical tricorder and examining Ela’s face.

“Yeah, I’m fine, only clipped me,” Ela said, swatting away the tricorder, “Why’d you bring a tricorder anyway? I thought this was supposed to be the ancient times.”

“My brother’s an engineer in Starfleet, and he’s always telling us about the holodeck malfunctions they have. I figured it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“Although I agree that we should take care of First Mate Remjol’s injuries, I believe it would be prudent to follow our ‘guide’, as it seems to be fleeing,” Tissav pointed to the retreating creature.

“After that monkey!” Ela exclaimed.

The group scrambled through the dense jungle as best they could, following the distant sound of mocking laughter. Every few meters a random fruit would come flying towards them, causing them to slip or stagger. 

“Over there!” Tissav exclaimed, speaking loudly to alert his friends and not because he was emotional.

The group nearly fell through the last of the foliage, finding themselves at the entrance to a dark cave. The monkey grinned at them, gesturing to the mouth of the cave, before scampering off quietly.

“Well Captain,” Ela gestured to the cave, still wincing from the bruise on her nose, “After you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Booby traps and enemy pirates! Action and adventure!  
> (if anyone noticed, this takes place during s1 ep4, Babel)


End file.
